Hook size

I have been missing cats all summer. I moved from 4/0 Kahles to 6/0 Kahles. I am using the same bait. Cut gills but not I am not getting hookups and the take the bait with ease. I am considering dropping back down to the 4/0's but I am afraid that I am going to miss out on that fish of a life time.

if it was me id look at the size of the fish i wanted to catch and then pick the size of my hook from there. small hook all fish, big hook big fish only. at least that is how i look at it. and the smallest hook i use is usually a 6/0

Mark I like the Kahles and match the hook to the size of bait I'm using. Most of the time I start with a 7/0 in the summer months and 4/0 in early spring. I'll add a tip. Get some Dead Red Spray from Team Catfish and use on your bait. This enhancement will cause the cats to slam your bait.

I think that your hooks are too small, and when the baits are getting hit, the hook gap isn't open enough to let the point set into catfish flesh. Catfish aren't hook shy at all. A bigger hook means more gap available to keep the bait from covering the point, or to keep the hook from moving back into the bait.

I'll guarantee that more fished are missed because a hook is too small than because a hook is too big. :wink: My dad loves (used to, I think that I've converted him) to use good old Eagle Claw 84 j-hooks, 1/0, for most of his fishing. I've been telling him for years that he's missing fish because the hook is getting buried in the bait, not because it's just fiddlers hitting the bait. When we went to the Pee Dee River and fished with Bill in SC, using 8/0 Gama Circle's, he became a believer after we caught several small flatheads up to 7lbs or so on big bait and big hooks. He'd have never used hooks that big (or bait that big) if he was on his own. Of course, he also had to see someone else besides me fish with them too.:smile2:

Are you setting the hook when they run with the bait, or are you letting them load the rod? If you're letting them load the rod, go with a good circle hook and forget the kahle hooks, IMO. I've had absolutely NO success with letting fish load the rod using kahle hooks.

I've caught 6 inch bluegills on 6/0-8/0 Gamakatsu Octopus Circle hooks (using liver or a big wad of crawlers). No such thing as a hook too big for catfish. Even a little channel cat has a mouth that's bigger than all but the largest hooks generally used. A good modified circle hook like the Gama, Team Catfish, Daiichi, etc, WILL increase your hook-up percentage if you let the fish do the work.

From what I am reading bigger is better. So I will make a change to larger hooks. When I use the 6/0's I never hide the point of the hook. The reason I began wondering because this past weekend I had a quick tap followed by a long pull but nothing that loaded the pull if I had not been watching I would have missed it all and then nothing. Bait was gone.

Usually the fish hit the bait and thats it. I am chasing my pole if I forgot to set the bait clicker.

Big hooks are the name of the game with cats. They aren't hook shy, so there is no need to bury the point, unless you are trying not to get hung on a snag. When I have to bury hook points I always opt for braided line. The no stretch makes pulling the hook through the bait, and into the fish MUCH easier. Mono stretches to much, no mater what the diameter of the line. Just my $.02!

all the baits i use are relatively small like shrimp, crawlers, dip, and livers.
so all my baits fit even smaller hooks so i tend to use a mid sized hook and still tend to miss some fish. every blue moon ill use live or cut bait and then i up the size of my hook and i also have a tendency to try and set the hook so i try and use somethin like a j hook.

I have been missing cats all summer. I moved from 4/0 Kahles to 6/0 Kahles. I am using the same bait. Cut gills but not I am not getting hookups and the take the bait with ease. I am considering dropping back down to the 4/0's but I am afraid that I am going to miss out on that fish of a life time.

What do my fellow brothers think?

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I have been using the 4-5 ott gama offsets.. but a week ago I went to walmart and bought some 5 ott widegap Eagle Claw circles im gonna try.. they should do better.:cool2:

Mark, I wouldn't worry so much as to the size of fish your trying to catch. I have always based size of hook to accomadate my bait. Depending on how im fishing my bait (chunks, fillets, whole, live) helps me decide my hook selection.

The bigger the bait the bigger the hook. Unless im fishing for small channels i will usually use no smaller than a 6 inch peice of bait. For this I will usually use a 7/0 or up. Just ensure when placing the bait on the hook you should only be filling the space between the point and shaft of the hook about a 1/4 for the way with the bait (hooking a corner of the bait) leaving plenty of hook exposure. If the fish can take the bait you can set the hook. I prefer Gamakatsu circle hooks they are very sharp heavy hooks.

It has more to do with how you hook your bait then hook size. A 10/0 will not work if you try to stick the hook in the middle of a baseball size piece of bait. But hook it in the edge or side and a 5/0 will work better then the 1/0 that is filled with bait where it can not work.
Shoot the biggest blue catfish caught on a Rod and Reel http://wildwolfproducts.com/testimonials.htm Was caught on a 7/0 Kahle hook. It was one of our 2 hook rigs. Top hook was a King Kahle 10/0 and bottom hook was the 7/0 kahle. And the 7/0 did its job.
Way to many times its blamed on the hook, when its how the hook is in the bait. Best hook size for me and lots of others are the 7/0 Sickle hooks catch all the small fish and the big fish. But do not burry the hook in the big baits. Just hook HEHE The bait with the hook. Thus allowing the bend of the hook to be opened where it can work.
If you fill the bend of even a 24/0 hook up full with bait. When a fish hits the hook can't work. I have caught 40 and 50 lb fish on a #1 hook not a 1/0 but a size under a 1/0. Keep is how you hook your bait.
Please be on the lookout of how your hook is in the bait, also a 2 hook rig http://wildwolfproducts.com/2hook.htm will also catch most of those fish your not getting with one hook.
Pete